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Thursday, February 28, 2013

A Taste of Leftovers From Lenox

Rendering of food court with bamboo and exterior seating

Again, with so much going on, there is too much news to dedicate an entire post to each one.Lids will relocate their existing store from the lower level of Lenox Square to the former Ed Hardy space not far away.

Sunglass Hut is also relocating from adjacent to Lids to the former L'Occitane, one level up, near Bloomingdales.

Apparently, both the Lids and Sunglass Hut spaces, along with the nearby GameStop, will all be merged into one space for an unknown retailer.

Additionally, while much has been made of the renovations planned for the front of the mall, inside sources have long claimed there is plenty in store for the rear of the mall as well. I have now been able to substantiate this claim with verbiage from a building permit filed with the city of Atlanta.

Apparently the adidas store closure and the likely closure of DeathWatch member Original Penguin will also play a part in the food court renovation. Some sources say that one or both spaces will have their floors removed to make the food court below more open and inviting.

Additionally, with news coming out this week that The Cheesecake Factory in Buckhead is not being offered a renewal of their lease, current chatter indicates that they will relocate to Lenox Square. While this has not been substantiated by any source inside SIMON, it would make more sense rather than open their other concept, Grand Lux Cafe, as I had earlier reported.

What are your thoughts on the renovations of Lenox Square? What restaurants quick service, casual or otherwise would you like to see added to the mall? Do you like the idea of Buckhead resident parking at Lenox Square?

At this point, it's not a rumor, but a fact that they are being forced out. Peter Blum, a man that not only owns TCF space but also the adjacent ESPN Zone space wants to find "a better use" for the space. His ability to land a six story Restoration Hardware for the vacant ESPN Zone space has him thinking he secure a higher profile business for TCF space.

I hope he can but am amazed he was not satisfied having TCF, a popular restaurant, likely a good tenant who also likely had the desire to sign another longterm lease. Seems like a serious gamble to me.

Just saw the chickfila closed in the food court as well. Any news as to whether that is temporary or not? That has to be the longest standing tenant by far in the food court, its been there since I was a kid.

Yes, this closure is temporary and Chick-fil-A is slated to reopen as part of the new and improved food court look and offerings. I published another post about what you can expect from the food court and have listed that below.